Topic: Replacing an out-of-warranty DSi, which would you choose?

My launch DSi is the first handheld that I've ever received in which the shoulder buttons refuse to work. As much as I love my iPod touch I prefer to listen to podcasts while playing with my DS with the audio muted. While I've been using the "blowing dust away from the inside of the buttons" trick, it's now come to the point where the L button doesn't want to respond AT ALL, and I can coax the R button to work for a few minutes after several minutes of blowing. I can continue to play DS games that have full stylus control functions, but Mario Kart, FFIII, Chrono Trigger, both FFCC games and ESPECIALLY Nostalgia demand shoulder buttons.

I would easily get a replacement DSi but the DSi XL came out. While I love the idea of having bigger screens for playing Trauma Center, Picross (both games) and Puzzle Quest I feel that the $190.00 USD price tag is rather steep for a screen upgrade, and my current button issue is causing me to not want another DSi. The DS Lite is smaller and sleeker and would allow me to simply play the games that I own, but I can forget about the DSi Shop. Depending on my financial situation I might get the DS Lite as I'll be first in line for the upcoming 3DS next year and save the DSi for Pokemon trading and if company comes over.

Anyway, that's what I'll be doing, but my question is what you, the other NintendoLife members would do in your own situation. Based on YOUR experiences, if your DSi breaks down or malfunctions outside of it's one year warranty, would you purchase another DSi, purchase a cheaper DS model knowing that the 3DS is around the corner and that you can't access the DSi Shop, or simply do without until the 3DS releases?

My DSi's buttons are dead too, and I bought an XL. I'd say you should just wait for the 3DS though, since we're so close. It's been confirmed to be backwards compatible with DSiWare, I believe. The likelihood is questionable knowing Nintendo, but maybe you'll luck out and be able to transfer your games from your broken DSi to the 3DS. There's really no use in buying a DS Lite or a DSi at this point, they cost valuable cash that you can use for 3DS savings. Knowing Nintendo, the console shouldn't be TOO expensive since a launch Wii was under $300 and most of their handhelds are more affordable. Unless the 3DS is confirmed to be like $500 because of the technology, then you should buy DS Lite/i. xD

If you have DSiWare, I'd ship it to Nintendo to get it repaired. I believe it's like $75 if your system is out of warranty, which would be cheaper than any new systems. If the system needed to be replaced, they would be able to transfer your DSiWare too, or you could at least redownload everything. If you buy a new system, you're screwed pretty much when it comes to downloads. If not, you may just want to wait until E3 and make a decision then after they show the 3DS and probably give a release date/window.

This is the best option, imo.

Depends if he has over $75 in downloaded content though, and if he REALLY wants his DSi to work post-3DS. Otherwise he could just re-buy, say $25 in games on his 3DS and sell the broken i for 3DS money. TokenGirl's solution is very smart if you want to have two working DS handhelds (assuming you want to upgrade to 3DS regardless of owning a DSi), it would be nifty for Pokemon trades or playing multiplayer games.

Thanks for the comments, but I was hoping to put out a scenario and receive responses based on YOUR experiences. What would YOU do if you were in this situation? Is your DS library so vast that you MUST have a replacement DS in order to play your games, or would you "keep your fingers crossed" and await Nintendo's E3 showing? I already gave my answer as that my library is too big to NOT have a working DS, so I'm going to purchase a DS Lite in the interim.

I didn't want the topic to turn into one of those "what should I do" threads that tend to waste space on a website's servers (mainly because those threads die quickly) but to find out exactly how important your DS and your collections mean to you. If your DS died, would YOU wait until 3DS, and why or why not?

Hmm...I'm started to have the same problems with the shoulder buttons on my DSi too. One thing I've always wondered is how Nintendo deals with repairing DSi's, because of how personalized the system is, with pictures and the DRM of DSiWare, Can they transfer all of that?

It would be much more cost effective to send your DSi in than buy an entirely new one. Expecially if you have DSiWare.

I probably would send it into Nintendo, so I could get my downloadable games back. The year warranty that Ninty gives after repairs would hold me over until the 3DS comes out, and I could probably make most of the repair money back on a trade in when the 3DS does come out. You wouldn't get much selling one "as-is."

Is this shoulder button problem inherent in all DSi's or are you guys just really rough with yours? I only ask because I still have my DS phat which gets a lot of play time and has been knocked about quite a bit and all the buttons still work fine.
Anyway on topic, I would just wait for E3 to see when the 3DS will be released and if its not too far off I'd wait for that seeing as how its backwards compatible with DS games.

Thing is, I'm not rough with my DSi at all.

@Luigi78 and @0-172: Compare the current shape of the DSi and DSi XL buttons with the more recessed buttons on the DS and DS Lite and you'll see that the shoulder buttons on all of the current units are NOT flush with the exterior frame. I believe that this is a manufacturing defect that should be called to Nintendo's attention if many are suffering from the issue. I might write to them next week now that it's looking like it's the DSi that specifically suffers from this issue.

This whole shoulder button problem with the DSis is just terrible. It's one thing if this was an isolated incident, but it's possible that there are fewer people with working shoulder buttons than without. When the F*** did quality have to go out the window?

The shoulder button problem is vast - I can think of three close friends who have DSis. It has affected every one of them, not including my own. To anybody who has experienced it blow (or dab water) around the edges of the offending buttons, as dust gets caught, thought the problem gets slowly worse. I'd send it in if you have the warranty, which is what I nearly did until I found a solution. Depends if you have DSiWare, because I have 60+ games downloaded and wouldn't trust anybody, even Nintendo, to potentially damage the memory and waste the hundreds of pounds spent. I would only post it to them if there was no other solution, though that's my opinion.

Well, I was lucky to receive way more vacation pay than I expected, so I just replaced my DSi with a DSi XL as a birthday gift. Truth was, I had planned to get a DS Lite to tide me over but for some reason I chose bigger screens over dependable shoulder buttons. I examined the shoulder buttons on the XL when I got home - yep, still gaps where dust particles can easily enter.

When will I learn? I'm sure that I'm not the only one who had purchased an XL despite the flaws. Crap. Well, that's one way of resolving my situation.